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Prologue
Her mouth opened in a silent scream.
It echoed shrilly around in her mind, but no sound came out. Nothing except the breaths rushing closer and closer together as she observed the scene distantly.
Calm. That’s how she should be. That’s how she’d always appeared, her cousin had said–like a composed porcelain doll. Unmoved, even if the sky collapsed over their very heads.
That was, of course, until today. But who could blame her? She had never felt another person’s blood before.
Her fingers flexed under the moonlight, watching as it glistened. The texture was unsurprising, but the smell…
Nausea rushed through her as she choked.
Oh, God.
Oh, God.
The pungent odor suddenly hit her, piercing through the veil of numbness blanketing her. Its stench thrust the last fifteen minutes to the fore in a morbidly endless loop inside her head. Help! Help me. Quivering all over, she inched closer to the body, finally daring to approach it.
Deep breath.
In.
Out.
It was motionless, shrouded in darkness. The weapon in its back protruded at an odd angle, glinting at her tauntingly. When the night had begun, she could have hardly imagined it ending with a dead body on the expensive carpet. She’d tried her best to prevent it, to avoid it coming to this.
Please, no!
But she’d failed.
Creak.
The office door slowly opened, yet she could hardly move or look up. Footsteps rushed forward all the way until they encountered the flow of blood.
Deep red rivers.
“Ana…”
The soft alarm brought her eyes up to her aunt’s horrified face.
“You shouldn’t have come here.”
Chapter 1
One Year Later
“You think the old geezer knows if you’re pure?”
Ana’s pale brown eyes rounded in the mirror. “Emma. That’s the priest. Show some respect.”
The blonde snickered under her breath, adjusting her glasses. “Who said I was talking about him? Maybe I was talking about your beloved fiancé,” she jibed, gently laying the intricate veil across two chairs.
Ana’s gaze anxiously traced the length of it, a monstrous ten-foot fabric with hand-embroidered silk flowers. It was the perfect classic statement piece to pair with her crepe silk ballgown dress, which was ivory white, with the skirt extending out to a large six-foot diameter.
Was it extravagant? Probably. But it was her wedding day, and one of the rare designs she had created for herself. She only hoped she lived long enough to enjoy it.
“You really think I should worry about Gio?” Ana regarded her gown forlornly.
